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General Motors has been hit with a class action lawsuit by a consumer who claims that the company sold or leased 2010-2014 vehicles with a defective engine.
Dennis Vita claims that he owns a 2013 GMC Sierra equipped with a Generation IV Vortec 5300 Engine.
The plaintiff says he noticed that his vehicle started eating up an unusually high amount of oil, right around when it had 80,000 miles on the odometer.
Vita states that his Sierra consumes one quart of oil every 200 miles and that he has to change the spark plugs every 500 miles due to “fouling” from the excessive oil consumption.
The General Motors class action claims that GM did not disclose the oil consumption defect to Vita before he purchased the vehicle. The plaintiff argues that General Motors knew about the defect; thus, Vita purchased the vehicle with an incorrect understanding that he was getting a reliable vehicle.
Other vehicles that are subject to this defect include: 2010–2014 Chevrolet Avalanche; 2010–2013 Chevrolet Silverado; 2010–2014 Chevrolet Suburban; 2010–2014 Chevrolet Tahoe; 2010–2013 GMC Sierra; 2010–2014 GMC Yukon; and the 2010–2014 GMC Yukon XL, according to the GM class action lawsuit.
The plaintiff maintains that the Generation IV Vortec 5300 Engine in all of these vehicles consumes an improperly high quantity of oil that exceeds industry standards. This defect allegedly results in low oil levels, lubricity levels that are not sufficient, as well as damage to the internal engine component.
The main cause of the oil consumption defect is that the piston rings that are installed in the Generation IV Vortec 5300 Engine do not maintain enough tension to keep oil in the crankcase, the plaintiff alleges.
“Exacerbating the excessive oil loss and concomitant engine damage problems caused by the Oil Consumption Defect in the Class Vehicles is GM’s implementation of a defective Oil Life Monitoring System in each of those vehicles that fails to advise drivers of insufficient oil in their vehicles until those levels are critically low,” the General Motors lawsuit states.
The plaintiff argues that the problem is exacerbated because the Oil Life Monitoring system does not properly monitor oil level. Vita says the system monitors engine conditions which would calculate the expected deterioration in oil quality and will notify the driver when it is time for an oil change.
The complaint alleges that General Motors knows about the oil defect in its vehicles and has told its dealers to address the issue by performing stop-gap fixes of components of the Generation IV Vortec 5300 Engines.
These fixes, however, do not provide a complete and adequate remedy for the oil consumption defect that affects each of the Class vehicles, according to Vita.
In addition, the plaintiff claims that General Motors did not disclose the oil consumption defect to consumers who were thinking about purchasing the Chevy and GMC vehicles.
In November 2019, GM agreed to pay $42 million to settle a class action that claimed 2010-2013 Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain vehicles with a 2.4-liter Ecotec engines guzzle oil at a high rate.
A similar class action lawsuit was filed against General Motors in December 2019 by a consumer who claims that the Generation IV 5.3 Liter V8 Vortec 5300 engines suffer from comparable engine failure defects.
Do you own one of the vehicles listed in this class action lawsuit and it suffers from an oil consumption defect? Leave a message in the comments section below.
The plaintiff is represented by Peter B. Katzman of Morea Schwartz Bradham Friedman & Brown LLP, Greg G. Gutzler Adam J. Levitt, John E. Tangren, and Daniel R. Ferriof of Dicello Levitt Gutzler LLC, and W. Daniel “Dee” Miles, III, H. Clay Barnett, III, and J. Mitch Williams of Beasley Allen Crow Methvin Portis & Miles PC.
The GM Engine Defect Class Action Lawsuit is Dennis Vita v. General Motors LLC, Case No. 2:20-cv-01032, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
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412 thoughts onGM Class Action Lawsuit Alleges Engine Oil Guzzling Defect
I have a 2013 GMC Terrain 4 cylinder. I have oil excessive oil leaking from multiple areas that happened last week. The engine is completely shot.
Dealer is suggesting $8k to fix for a brand new engine.
We have a 2013 Chevrolet Captiva Sport. I do not understand why they are not included in the class action suit because they are virtually identical to the Chevy Equinox with the same crappy 2.4-liter Ecotec engines which use oil at an astonishing rate. I first noticed an increase in oil usage at around 85,000 – 90,000 after an oil change was done at the dealership. I heard a knocking in the engine a few days after the oil was changed. It was 2 1/2 quarts low and I just thought the tech got distracted and had failed to complete the job but a few days later, we were down a little over a quart low.
GM’s Oil Life Monitoring System failed to advise us of insufficient oil in the engine even at critically low levels. We contacted the dealership but they just suggested that we perform a test to measure the usage. When they explained the criteria of the test, I told them that we did document the mileage and oil used and they felt that using 4 quarts per 1,000 miles was not excessive usage. They did not inform us that GMC was aware of the problem but we felt like they were gaslighting us. Now we know why.
After we passed 125,000 miles, everything went downhill. The dealership performed a number of stop-gap fixes of components of the 2.4-liter Ecotec, however; none of the fixes addressed the oil consumption defect. All of our repair bills were in the thousands. Finally, at around 175,000 miles, my wife took the car in because it was running poorly. The dealer told us that the repairs would be in excess of $7,000 for a new transmission, catalytic converter, fuel pump, sparkplugs, and ignition coils (Note: we had a complete tune-up 6 months earlier.)
We took the car home and started looking for a local mechanic to give us a second opinion. He said we needed a timing belt set, sparkplugs, ignition coils, a generator, cam timing sensors, a catalytic converter, and a new exhaust manifold. I had him do the work but unfortunately, there are still issues that only a new engine can solve. My mechanic is very familiar with the 2.4-liter Ecotec engines. He says that they are all designed to self-destruct with their faulty pressure control valves (PCV). Or rather, the issue is that the engines aren’t equipped with a traditional one, instead using a fixed vacuum port on the intake manifold. When clogged, crankcase pressure can cause these vehicles’ rear main seals to leak oil. This defect results in low oil levels, and lubricity levels that are not sufficient to prevent damage to all internal engine components. This defect allegedly results in low oil levels, lubricity levels that are not sufficient, as well as damage to the internal engine components. An additional deadly flaw lies in GM’s Oil Life Monitoring System which fails to advise the driver of insufficient oil in the engine even at critically low levels.
Add me! My 2012 GMC TERRAIN has been nothing but problems since I bought it used at the dealership!!
Please add me.
I have a 2010 GMC Terrain , That consumes Oil at a very fast rate . I have to have my oil filled and changed more frequently . I have had to put over $4,000 in repairs on this vehicle because of the oil usage . My car started stalling ,making a loud noise and wouldn’t go . Within the first year of having it and less than 50,000 miles it needed a new transmission. .
I have a 2010 GmC terrain with this engine. I have had many repairs completed on this vehicle du to the defective design. This includes having the piston rings replace, valve cover and gaskets replaced, tim7ng chain replaced and now the cats. I had received a letter prior to these repairs being completed and no linger have the info. Where can I submit me receipts?
I have a 2010 GMC Terrain and my engine turned off mid drive.
I have a 2013 GMC Terrain. Have only had it for a year. Just lost the engine and being asked to fork out $9000 to fix it. I am still paying it off through the bank. Mechanic said it went cos of the oil issues. Please advise.
I have a 2015 GMC Terrain. I just had the timing chain replaced. The car is burning excessive oil. Please include me in the Class Action Lawsuit.
Hi. I bought a 2011 GMC Terrain in the summer of 2019. Not only did the dealer not tell me about a potential lawsuit at that time but I’ve had problems with the car ever since I bought it. Today I find out that because of this excessive oil burning issue, the timing chain was stretched and this caused the pistons to totally destroy my engine. This car only has 89,000 miles on it and now it’s worthless. I still owe $6500 finance on the car to top all of this off. I was never notified about this lawsuit from GM or anyone. How can I add my name to this lawsuit? Please any help would be greatly appreciated.